


Antidote

by Permanent_Insomniac



Category: Supernatural
Genre: After Episode 8x14: Trial and Error, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-03-10
Packaged: 2017-12-04 21:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/715236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Permanent_Insomniac/pseuds/Permanent_Insomniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Kevin Tran sinks further and further away from the normal life that he used to have, he finds himself addicted to aspirin and caffeine, things he thought will carry him through this ordeal. But as he unexpectedly finds care and concern in the form of Sam Winchester, Kevin discovers Sam keeping a few secrets of his own from Dean as well. </p>
<p>Set after Season 8, episode 14 (Trial and Error).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Antidote

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of Sevin Week on Tumblr.  
> Day 1 - Confession

Kevin swallowed two aspirin pills, and took another chug of his tepid coffee. The bitter beverage provides no comfort, but downing the drink at least uses up some of his restless energy. 

Midnight now has come and gone. With every passing second, Kevin’s dread and fear grows more and more pronounced. _Where are they?_ If they were right about the hellhounds’ soul-collection timeline, the Winchesters should have some good news by now. He checks his phone again. Still no response.

Kevin’s imagination flashed to the other possibility. With what knowledge he had gained from the tablets, the hounds are nasty creatures indeed. He thought of the hellhounds winning, tearing and stripping away at the flesh of Sam and Dean, the horrible screams emanating from the two men he came to know and trust–

A wave of nausea came over him, and somehow the confined bowels of the boat seem even smaller than before. Kevin tries to chug another mouthful of coffee, hoping it would calm him down, but somehow he could not even find the strength to hold the cup. 

The coffee cup smashes onto the floor.

The phone rings in the silent room. No one answers.

____________________________________________

The Impala raced along the empty road at near breakneck speed. And so are the thoughts of Sam Winchester. He checks his ringing phone again, hoping for a response from a certain prophet. The beep indicated otherwise.

“Hey Kevin, it’s Sam. We um… passed the test, the trial. It’s done. And… call me back when you get this, yeah?”

Sam ended the message, looked at his watch, stepped on the gas, and cursed internally that he could not teleport immediately to Missouri.

After passing the first trial by disembowelling a hellhound, Sam had been eager to share the good news with Kevin. He had looked so close to breaking point the last time Dean and Sam checked up on him, and Sam thought this could be just the thing to cheer him up. To convince him that there’s still hope they could all get out of this alive in the end. To let him know that he is not alone in this long marathon, and that there are still people who care.  
Except no one answered on the other end. 

Dean had shrugged it off, convinced that Kevin finally found the time for some well-earned rest and recreation. But Sam thought otherwise. He left Dean alone in the bunker, and stole off in the middle of the night, unable to push down his worry that something might have happened to the prophet. 

_Just another hour more._

____________________________________________

“Kevin!”

The prophet jolts awake and stares at his surroundings. 

He is lying on a patch of grass in the backyard, with the sun beating down on his face. Tilting his head slightly, a weathered brown picket fence came into view, and then came a familiar, grey house. 

_Home. I’m home._

“Kevin!” 

There’s that voice again, calling him. Kevin wanted to respond, to call back, but found himself simply too exhausted. He fell back. The weight of the world has marinated his bones, and he is simply content to let the owner of the voice find him.

Someone lumbered into his vision.

“Hey buddy, I’ve got you. Just lie still and don’t move, okay? I’m gonna get you some water.”

Kevin stares at this newcomer, oddly unable to figure out who he or she is. He finds himself concentrating, narrowing his eyes to see who it is.

_Mum._

Instantly, his eyes overflowed with tears he will only allow her to see. She busies back with a glass of water, and his heart clutches with pain; She had looked so worried, with fear and worry etches into the eyes.

“Mum…”

The figure stops. 

“I missed you. I missed you so much. I just want everything to be normal again. I… I just want to go home. I can’t keep on pretending I’m okay anymore.” 

Kevin felt his confession sting the air, but could not seem to stop. 

“I’m slowly dying, dying inside, and everyday, I wonder why I open my eyes. I always tell Sam and Dean and everyone that I will carry on, but I cannot stand living like this anymore, I– ”

The figure turns. But it is not his mother anymore. Instead, Kevin finds Sam Winchester walking over to him. Sam strides over to where Kevin is lying and slightly props him up, putting a mug to his lips.

“Here, have some water. This should make you feel better.”

Embarrassed, Kevin drinks, hiding his face behind the safety of the mug. 

The dreamy quality of the landscape dissolves, revealing the rusty confines of the safehouse boat once more. Kevin stops drinking.

“Better?” Sam asked. Kevin nodded, setting the mug on the floor. Hastily wiping his eyes, he tries to stand up, but the floor does not seem to stay still for him. With Sam’s reassuring arm supporting, he managed to stand and get himself into a chair. Sam himself flops into a chair opposite him.

“Wow, I really overreached myself, didn’t I?” 

A thoughtful look crossed Sam’s eyes, but he did not answer. 

Kevin could not help but continue, “Look, Sam, whatever I said just now, it meant nothing okay, I was just–“ 

“Kevin. Just how much aspirin have you been taking a day? Or coffee, for that matter?”

“I…” Kevin searched his head, but found himself answering honestly. “I kinda lost track.”

Sam Winchester stared at him, and Kevin saw not reproach, but a flash of understanding cross his eyes. 

“Kevin, you cannot shoulder this thing alone, man. You need to let the people around you, help you. You can’t do this alone. It will not only kill you, but also the people who care and worry about you.” 

After a beat, Sam then added. “Call it personal experience.”

The silence stretches between the two men, and before Sam could bring the topic up, Kevin already had an answer.

“No, I can’t call my mum.”

“Kevin-”

“Look, I know better than anyone that I’m not well, okay? I’m scared to death! But to call and tell her that I’m constantly having fainting spells, and nosebleeds, and hallucinations? I can’t! Because I…” Kevin finds himself releasing the breath he did not know he had been holding. “I just don’t want her to cry over me anymore.”

“Kevin, she will want to know. If something happens to you–”

“Would you tell Dean if something bad, deadly bad, is happening to you?”

Sam stilled. The tension descends upon the two of them like a blanket, and for a moment, Sam looked to be on the verge of a comeback. 

But then he lets it go.

Kevin, sensing that he has won the battle for now, relaxes and leans into the table for support. Even this short exertion seems to have worn him out. 

Sam stares at the young prophet and takes in his current state. He is pale and shaking, with sweat coating his brow, wearing a shirt that hasn’t been washed in days, weeks even. Sam felt his heart constrict, and mentally berates himself for not intervening earlier, to take care of the young man thrust too suddenly into the world of the supernatural.

Sam knew what he had to do.

He stands up, and walks towards Kevin’s bedroom. For a moment, Kevin felt a strong urge to stop him; for he has been more vulnerable with this man than he had ever been with anyone, not even with his mother, nor with Channing. Sam has not only now witnessed Kevin’s tears, but also the raw confessions of his deepest fears, and Kevin wasn’t sure whether he is ready to let him witness the pathetic state of his room. 

But Sam hasn’t given him grief for his moment of weakness, and hence, he settled for asking instead.

“What… what are you doing?”

“Packing, you’re coming with me.”

Sam emerges from Kevin’s room, carrying his bag. 

“To… to where?”

“To our… our place. We have a bunker now, a home, you can call it.”

“But… is it safe?”

“Don’t worry, the place is warded against everything and anything. No demon will be able to find you there.” Sam looks at Kevin. “You will be safe. We… Dean and I will make sure you are. And not just safe, but healthy as well. I…” Sam found himself rearranging his thoughts. “We need you.”

Kevin felt a surge of affection towards the younger Winchester. He nodded quickly, afraid that his tears are about to make a reappearance. 

Sam secures the bag, and holds out his hand to Kevin.

“Shall we?”

Kevin nodded again, and allowed himself to be helped out of the boat by Sam.

____________________________________________


End file.
